Sonic Reintroduction
by CoyoteMao
Summary: Dr. Eggman is defeated and Angel Island is saved. With the destruction of the Death Egg and the evil genius's apparent demise, Sonic the Hedgehog sets out to find the family he never knew, trying to leave his troubled past behind. In his search for answers about his own origin the Blue Blur comes to a place known as Cloud City that just so happens to be Ivo Robotnik's hometown...
1. Episode I City In The Clouds

**Episode I. City In The Clouds**

In the air, high above the surface of planet Freedom, a single red dot travelled across the deep blue sky. Miles Prower, also known as "Tails" (a nickname he earned for being born with twice the number of tails typical for his species), sat at the helm of the Tornado. The fox has built this light propeller-driven plane several years ago, piecing the aircraft together from scrap metal and salvaged parts. Despite the less than noble origin, the Tornado worked like a clock, its engine humming silently as Miles ran a mid-flight check on all the sub-systems. Every light on the control panel shone green and the fox – satisfied with the results – set to adjust the plane's course. The long journey was coming to an end, their destination now appearing through the clouds dead ahead.  
First just one, then two and finally an entire archipelago of islands could be seen floating over the green ranges of the hills beneath. Even from many kilometers away one could easily distinguish a myriad of tall buildings that littered those unnatural rock formations, bound together by a series of winding lines that on close inspection turned out to be roads, bridges and highways. Tantalizing in the rays of the late summer sun, the Cloud City was a magnificent sight to behold, breathtaking by the virtue of its pure surreality.  
Miles paused for a few moments to take in the wondrous view and then turned to his friend, snoozing in the copilot's seat.  
"Hey, Sonic!" he shouted, "Wake up, we're almost there!"  
The blue hedgehog called Sonic stretched and rubbed his eyes. Then, without a trace of fear, he hopped out of the cockpit and onto the biplane's wings, apparently unaware of the tremendous distance between him and the solid ground down below. The fox saw Sonic yawn as his spiked companion squinted at the scenery before him.  
"It's beautiful, isn't it?"  
The hedgehog nodded in agreement and crossed his arms.  
"It's hard to believe that this place was that bloated Eggman's hometown" he said, clearly enjoying the gusts of wind on his fur.  
Knowing that Sonic preferred action to chit chat, Miles hastily changed the subject to the task at hand:  
"According to the files the princess was able to retrieve from the Death Egg's database, Dr. Robotnik tried to track down the phenomenon for several months. Right before he found the Master Emerald, Eggman traced the signal to the most unlikely location – here!" the fox punched in a combination on the plane's monitor and a colorful chart appeared. "Whoever they are, the person Eggman was looking for bears a Chaos signature almost identical to your own, Sonic. Which can only mean that it's…"  
"My mother" concluded the hedgehog, turning to his sidekick with a reassuring smile. "Thanks for the reminder, buddy. But I know all this already."  
"Uh-huh…" Tails coughed as if to recollect himself. "Do you think we will find her?"  
Sonic looked into the distance silently for several moments before replying.  
"I hope so. She's the only one who can answer my questions."  
"I guess…" the fox sighed and checked the readings on the control panel again. "At any rate you'll have to find a landing strip for the Tornado. I'm not sure how the city authorities will react to us invading their airspace uninvited."  
Sonic scanned their surroundings and noticed a path suspended in mid-air just close enough for him to reach it.  
"Keep our ride safe. I'll let you know once I come up with something."  
Having said that, the blue hedgehog gained as much of a running start as he could and then jumped off the trusty plane's wings into the vast abyss below.  
Tails followed his friend's fall to make sure Sonic made it. When he saw the hedgehog land safely, Miles turned the steering wheel, intent on leading the plane away from the city, when a soft beeping noise caught his attention.  
"Huh? An incoming message..?"

The target Sonic has chosen turned out to be a high speed motorway and he managed to land right on the separating line. The hedgehog quickly assessed the distance to the closest land mass and then rushed towards it with amazing speed that earned him his nickname – the Blue Blur. Most drivers didn't even notice that something just flew past them, as Sonic ran between the two streams of vehicles. When he reached the island, the hedgehog leaped over the traffic to his left and landed on a sidewalk, surprising a random passer-by. The man was jogging along the shore and stopped to take a sip of water when a 3 feet tall Freedom planet native landed right next to him, prompting the guy to drop his drink.  
"Real sorry about that!" apologized Sonic and - not actually expecting a reply - continued on his way. He noticed a building further down the street that looked like a small office or a low-income apartment block with a conveniently placed skate ramp next to it. The hedgehog increased his speed and swiftly ran up the said structure, trying not to step on any windows. Once on top, he finally stopped to look around and, as Sonic did so, he couldn't help, but feel a little disappointed by the fabled enclave of the outlanders.  
Up close the district he was now in kind of paled in comparison to Capital City and just made the Blue Blur wish he was back in Station Square, enjoying their world-famous chilly dogs. However, Sonic noted a dozen or so skyscrapers towering over the rest of the infrastructure deeper into the island and even more of these on another floating formation that hanged slightly higher than the one he was currently on. Its rocky side was dotted with unnatural caves and tunnels where power plants and factories lay hidden.  
From what Tails had told him about the place prior to their departure, the hedgehog remembered that Could City dumped what it couldn't recycle onto the land below, which long ago turned into a lifeless black swamp from constant pollution and lack of sunlight. The only inhabitants of that wasteland were robots, mining for what precious resources could still be found under the dead soil.  
"Guess it wasn't just that Eggman… Those aliens don't care about ecology in general" Sonic mumbled under his nose. The hedgehog's gaze wandered around and he saw them: the outlanders – humans that is – scurrying about the streets, riding in cars and stopping to check time on their personal communication devices of some sort. Taller than most planet Freedom sapient species (and with a lot less fur on their bodies for that matter), the outlanders weren't that uncommon, especially in places like Capital City where they coexisted peacefully with the natives. But here, in a settlement with predominantly human population, it was a completely different story.  
A loud crackle disturbed Sonic's thoughts and Tails's voice ringed in his right ear:  
"Come in, Sonic!" the hedgehog heard the sounds of the plane's engine in the background, but he could make out his friend's words without much trouble.  
"I'm here, buddy. What is it?"  
"I just received a message from the princess. It's a one-way transmission, sent directly to the Tornado's navigational computer" a series of clicks was audible as Miles punched something in on the keyboard. "I'm relaying the recording to you now."  
Sonic nodded even though his friend obviously couldn't see him and then turned, mentally plotting his course through the nearby rooftops. A few moments later the transmitter chirred and began playing the file Tails redirected to him:  
"Sonic, Tails. If our calculations are correct, this message should reach you before you make it to the enclave… On behalf of the Freedom Fighters, I'd like to once again thank you for the service you rendered to my people…" Princess Alicia Acorn's earnest manner of speech was easy to recognize since the Blue Blur and his sidekick had worked with the heir to Mobius throne for quite a while. The leader of the rebels fighting against Dr. Robotnik's tyranny, her organization proved to be a vital source of intelligence which ultimately led to Eggman's demise.  
With Her Highness's help Sonic and Tails were able to collect the seven Chaos Emeralds and use the blue hedgehog's innate capability to control the power of Chaos to destroy the Death Egg – an orbital battle station Dr. Robotnik built, planning to subdue the entire planet. As a token of gratitude, the princess shared with them some of the files her hacking team extracted from Eggman's computers before the doomsday device exploded into a miniature supernova. These concerned the matter that was of utmost importance to Sonic – the secret of his own origin.  
"You two have become a beacon of light for the oppressed people of planet Freedom in the darkest of times. We hope that one day you'll stand with us to end the rule of machines in the land of Mobius…" the recording went on and, as the spiked hero jumped from one roof to another, making his way across the Cloud City, he had to suppress a bitter grin. Despite the death of its sole leader, Robotnik's war machine didn't come to a halt. Far from it: the entirety of Eggman Empire had apparently been designed to proceed with execution of the madman's plans even when left unsupervised. Sonic on the other hand had played his role in taking the Doctor down and was now done with the whole thing.  
The hedgehog sympathized with Alicia's cause, but he and Tails had seen that the rebellion was in truth run by the remnants of Mobian aristocracy that sponsored the Freedom Fighters' operations and wouldn't stop after they reclaimed their homeland. Those old timers imagined the outlanders to be the root of all evil in the world and would rather see another war with the aliens unfold than spend time rebuilding. Unwilling to be their trump card any longer, Sonic took his plane and left in search of the lost family he never knew.  
"Know that you'll always be seen as friends of the Freedom Fighters and may contact us if ever you'll find yourself in need of our assistance." Here the audio paused and the hedgehog got the feeling that the speaker might've put aside a sheet of paper with her speech written on it. "Well, that was a mouthful… What I really wanted to tell you Sonic is that I understand your reasons for leaving. I do not agree with them, but I understand."  
Now this was the genuine Princess Alicia Acorn that Sonic came to respect and even admire during a couple of months of their partnership. That was especially strange for him, considering that to this day the two never even met in person.  
"They don't want me to share any more information we possess, but you need to know this" the royalty continued and the hedgehog caught a hint of concern in her tone. "The Eggman Empire has been very active recently - hundreds of Robotnik's bots gather in the Dust Hill zone. Our Wolf Clan agents suspected a speedy attack on Capital City at first, but it appears that many of those robots are workers and scientific analysis drones. Something big must be at stake for them to transport a ton of expensive equipment so far from their guarded perimeter and we fear that… Well, whatever it was they uncovered is bad news for everyone."  
"No kidding" thought Sonic. With Eggman's growing interest in Chaos energy sources in the last days of his dark reign, a hi-tech search party dispatched so close to one of the known ruins of the ancient echidnas' cities sounded like trouble alright. The hedgehog wondered that perhaps he was a bit too hasty in his decision to come so far from home in case something did go down back there.  
"On the bright side, with the Eggman Empire's attention centered in the South, your chances of getting to Cloud City undetected might be a bit higher now. So that's a plus." the princess concluded and then added warmly: "Don't worry. I'm going to look into the matter myself ASAP. In the meanwhile I wish you good luck… May your journey meet with success. Sally out."  
There was a beep, indicating the end of transmission. Sonic stood in silence, scratching his nose – a gesture his body associated with profound thinking. Finally the hedgehog snapped out of it and tapped the communication gadget to open a comlink with the Tornado and its pilot.  
"Sonic?"  
"Home onto my coordinates, Tails. I think I found a perfect perch for our bird."  
With that Sonic terminated the link and looked over the panorama of a massive green field situated at the very edge of the floating island. It has probably been intended as a recreational area or a future construction site, but right now this vast and almost completely flat meadow was totally deserted. From the top of the commercial tower he was on, the Blue Blur spotted a cluster of trees on the horizon that would be perfect to hide a small biplane in and - taking a deep breath - he prepared for descent.

The landing was a rough one: the Tornado bounced on every hummock and skidded terribly when the grass got into its landing gear... But Tails has been through worse. The fox led the vehicle across the field as carefully as possible, trying not to strain its mechanisms too much and after some persuasion the trusty biplane came to a halt. Miles switched the engine off and together with Sonic they pushed the Tornado into the shade of the small grove the hedgehog spotted earlier. After covering their transport with a camouflage net and some torn branches to conceal it from wandering eyes, the two sighed with relief and walked slowly towards the megapolis glimmering in the distance in an already fading sunlight.  
"So, what's the plan?" Sonic asked, snapping his fingers.  
"Well, Robotnik's records mention that the source of Chaos energy was mostly active during the night" answered Tails, happy to stretch his legs after a long flight. "The best course of action would be to wait till sunset and then I can use my wrist communicator to monitor…"  
The fox couldn't finish the sentence because his best friend who was in the lead suddenly stopped and Miles bumped right into him.  
"What is it, Sonic? What's wrong?"  
The hedgehog didn't reply, but kept on staring unblinkingly at something in the distance. Tails followed Sonic's gaze and saw a huge video screen mounted on the wall of a business center just outside the park they were in. On it an image was shown: one of a bald man with an enormous red moustache, wearing a uniform with a very high collar. The person smiled, showing off two rows of perfectly white teeth and the words "ROBOTNIK ENGINEERINGS" appeared, followed by a slogan: "Building a better future… For you, your family and everybody".  
"Makes you wonder, huh?" said Miles after a long pause. "Just how much people here know about what's going on in the outside world."  
Sonic shrugged and turned to his sidekick with a smile.  
"Whatever… Let's get something to eat. I'm starving."

Dr. Ivo Robotnik had been known for many things, but humility was never one of them. The annihilator of the Babylon Gardens, usurper to the throne of Mobius and the forefather of robotization (the science behind the synthesis of living organic matter with artificial components and even the crudest forms of machinery); above all else Eggman valued his own comfort and required a lot of personal space. Thus the scientist's personal laboratory in his Cloud City headquarters looked more like a hangar, packed to the brim with every kind of hi-tech equipment imaginable.  
Right now however its exact dimensions and decorum were impossible to tell since the only source of illumination in an otherwise pitch black room was a monitor of a tiny computer set on top of a working desk. In front of that screen, seated in a high-back chair too big for her short frame, a girl with long golden hair hammered away on the keyboard. Before her - one lengthy line after another - formed a code so advanced that it rivaled a living being's DNA structure in complexity. The majority of it was copypasted from an existing template however and the young woman almost felt ashamed to defile such a masterpiece with her own, relatively primitive algorithms.  
Consumed by her work, the girl seemed almost out of touch with reality, but when the silence of the lab was unexpectedly broken, she didn't act in the least bit surprised.  
"He's here."  
The young lady looked up from the monitor, but made no attempt to locate the unseen entity that distracted her, closing her eyes instead – sore from long hours of staring into a viewscreen – and rubbing her forehead as if to chase a headache away.  
"He is? Are you sure?" she inquired, addressing no one in particular and trying not to lose concentration. Despite her best efforts, the girl could already feel her tired mind drift away.  
"Yes" was the simple reply. Then, after a momentary hesitation, the speaker added: "I can sense him in the streets beyond the walls of this facility."  
"Very well…" the girl yawned, wishing only to be done with this strange conversation and to go back to work, lest she would fall asleep right here at this desk. "I'll notify RoboUncle, let him deal with the intruder however he…"  
"You know that EggRobo doesn't stand a chance" the voice interrupted her mid-sentence. "*I* have to challenge him, Hope."  
Instantly awake, Hope frowned and groped around the table for aspirin tablets. Either she dozed off there for a moment or the AI just called her by first name… Something it seldom did, despite the constant telepathic link that connected them.  
"We WILL challenge him, Metal" Hope assured her partner, struggling to get the pills out of the package in almost complete darkness. "When the moment is right and once I'm done with your upgrades… Just give me a little more time."  
She waited for several seconds, but there was no reply, which – since her interlocutor was a robot with super-fast processing powers – pretty much meant that the conversation was over. Too exhausted to feel disappointed, Hope sighed and tapped the intercom button.  
"Hey, uncle!" the girl said in the most amiable voice she could muster. "I've just heard something you might want to check out…"


	2. Episode II The Egg-Hydra

**Episode II. The Egg-Hydra**

For the longest time the world around him seized to exist: there was no sense of direction, nor any way to tell the time, just an endless white void that seemed to stretch infinitely in every direction. Then the nothingness began to recede and silhouettes of an unfamiliar landscape oozed through the shroud of blinding light. At the same time as those vague outlines turned into tangible things, a multitude of sounds came into existence, filling the air with the crackling of fire, the night songs of insects and the rustle of wind in the palm trees.  
Surprised, he found himself lying on the tiled floor of what looked like an inner garden of some ancient palace. Wooden torches hanged on the stone walls of the courtyard, giving barely enough light to retake the abundant decorative plant life from the darkness. And in the middle of it all, surrounded by ferns and fuchsias, set a curiously ornamented fountain with seven columns placed in a semicircle, each one aflame with a different color of the rainbow.  
He tried to stand up, but every limb felt heavy and the slightest of movements caused nausea. Managing to roll on his back, the wanderer lied motionlessly, staring into the sky above while waiting for the dizziness to abate. Up there in this boundless black ocean the golden disk of the moon presided over the legions of dancing stars and – hypnotized by their cold glimmer – the tired spectator struggled to keep his eyes open, fighting the compulsion to just let it all go and slip into peaceful slumber.  
There was a sound of someone's soft steps nearby. It took a few long seconds to register and then he blinked, startled by a dark shape that appeared from the corner of his vision. A short figure knelt beside him and in the faint glow of the nearest torch the wanderer saw that it belonged to a young girl. There seemed to be something very odd about her appearance, although in his exhausted state the man couldn't quite tell exactly what it was.  
She wore a simple dress made out of white cloth and parts of her body it revealed were covered by short, peach-colored fur. On the girl's head rested a tiara, encrusted with priceless gems, but her big cobalt eyes shone brighter than any precious stone.  
"Are you alright?" the young creature spoke in a strange archaic tongue and to his amazement the listener understood the words that were uttered. It felt weird as if their meaning emerged from the depths of his conscious like he was hearing them spoken for the first time in a very long while.  
"How did you get here? Do you know?" the girl asked, undeterred by lack of response. He wanted to answer, but found that there was nothing to tell: trying to recall what happened before he awakened the wanderer realized that there was nothing to remember - his memory was blank. Under normal circumstances that alone would be reason enough to panic, but somehow it didn't seem to matter in this dreamlike place. The wanderer tried to explain all this to his youthful interrogator, operating the unfamiliar language the best he could.  
"To lose one's identity is a terrible affliction…" the girl shook her head, apparently more worried than the man himself was. "Do you at least know your own name?"  
Again he strained his brain, but to no avail. Feeling completely lost and out of touch with what was going on the wanderer informed the lass that no, if there had been something he used to be called, it was now a mystery to him.  
"Hmmm… Well, this is most troublesome" she sighed with concern. "What do you call a person without a name?"  
The man thought he remembered a suitable word from a different ancient language. Pondering where he got such deep linguistic knowledge from, the wandered was nonetheless happy to be able to give a straight answer for once.  
"What an unusual name!" the lass giggled. "Then from now on and until you rediscover your true self – you shall be known as Nemo!"  
Somehow the man didn't find the idea of a complete stranger naming him on a moment's whim agreeable. He tried to shake his head in protest, but as he did so, Nemo's vision got blurry as if he was looking at everything from the bottom of the lake and someone decided to throw stones into the water. Through the ripples he could see the girl rest her palm on his forehead, but felt no touch.  
"I know that in your heart you're a good and honest person…" her voice reached out to him as every other sound drowned out with the growing pressure of liquid on his eardrums. "You're kind and loyal to those you hold dear. Loyal… Like a dog."  
Nemo couldn't tell if he heard a hint of irony in that last phrase or not. And with the light and his awareness quickly fading away he really didn't care.

"I have to admit, Tails" said Sonic, before gobbling down the last of the hot dog. "This place ain't so bad… On a full stomach."  
The two of them were now walking along the riverbank on one of the central islands that formed the downtown area. A long winding artificial stream ran across the entire cluster, skipping from one district to another via aqueducts and picturesque waterfalls. With beautiful plazas, expansive malls and scenic little parks set up on both sides, it was no wonder the river became a major tourist attraction and even at such late an hour the busy streets were lit bright as day by overabundance of advertisements and neon signs.  
"I suppose we needed a vacation after all that happened" Tails paused to take a lick of mint and chocolate chip flavored ice-cream. "Too bad we can't afford to rent a room. Who knows when the source of that Chaos energy will choose to show up again? We might be stuck here for a while."  
Sonic shrugged and leaned on the railing, looking at a luxurious ferryboat that slowly glided past them.  
"You worry too much. Just relax… Enjoy a rare moment away from any deadly machines of mass destruction."  
"Yeah, this is a first" the fox chuckled, surveying the cheerful crowd of outlanders going about their business on this warm summer evening. "Weird how it's a norm for so many others..."  
The friends stood in silence for several minutes. Miles finished his treat and was about to ask Sonic something when suddenly the wrist communicator on his right hand started beeping.  
"What is it?"  
Tails hastily tapped on the gadget's screen and as he checked the readings the fox beamed with excitement.  
"This is it, Sonic - I've got the signal! It's not very far from here and…" he consulted the watch again and then pointed at the far bank of the river. "There! It's coming from over there!"  
Sonic threw a quick glance across the canal and noticed another cruise boat coming their way. A plan hatched in his spiky head almost instantly.  
"We should hurry" the Blue Blur told his unsuspecting buddy, whose attention was still fixed on the gimmicky timepiece.  
"Yeah, the signal's getting weaker" agreed Tails, switching the communicator off. "I think we passed a bridge just a few minutes…"  
However, before the fox could finish the sentence Sonic grabbed him by the arm and pulled to the side, instantly picking up speed.  
"Wait, what are you..?!" Miles exclaimed, but the hedgehog already jumped over the ledge, hauling the poor cub along.

A couple of curious passengers turned their way as the duo landed noisily onboard the ferry, nearly crashing into a row of deck-chairs. Tails's eyes flashed fire as he got up on his feet.  
"We're supposed to keep a low profile" the fox reminded Sonic while dusting himself down, to which the hasty hedgehog threw his hands up in mock confusion.  
"Scold me later, okay? Let's go!"  
They made their way to the other side of the upper deck, trying to act natural despite the many interrogative looks. Thankfully it was a lot less lively here, but their destination didn't seem to get any closer. Certainly not close enough to just hop across the dividing waterway.  
"Now what?" Tails inquired, watching small whirlpools form in the stream below. "I'm not sure I'll be able to carry you over to the shore and besides we'll definitely draw attention to ourselves that way."  
"No need to – look!" The Blue Blur gestured towards another boat that showed up ahead, moving in the opposite direction. "Once it lines up with us – we'll be good to go."  
At that exact moment the ferry they were on stopped dead in its tracks, the resulting jolt almost forcing Miles off his feet.  
"What was that?!" the fox grabbed Sonic by the shoulder, trying to keep his balance. "You think they noticed us sneaking onboard?"  
"I'm pretty sure it wasn't the ticket collector pulling down the emergency brakes… Hang on to something!"  
The vortexes around the ship grew bigger and then with a loud splash something burst to the surface. A giant tentacle covered with stainless plating crashed into the floor only a few meters away from the two friends. The monstrous thing wriggled and clung to the ferryboat like an anchor. Suddenly the air filled with panicked screams and the grinding of metal against metal as more tentacles sprung from the water and latched themselves onto the immobilized vessel, rocking it violently.  
"It's going to pull us to the bottom!" Tails screamed, still holding on to his older friend.  
Without a warning the tossing seized and in the ensuing lull something else rose from the river. An enormous head - heavily armored and of distinct serpentine quality - impended over the ferry, its massive frame adorned with twin cannons and protective spikes. Like the rest of that mechanized monstrosity the head was colored crimson and gold, with Robotnik Empire insignias visible on each side.  
The machine positioned itself right in front of Sonic and Tails and then a bizarre, clanking speech came from its speakers:  
"Well, well, well… What have we here?"  
The part of the snake's head where the eyes would normally be slid apart, revealing an inner compartment. A pair of red visual sensors stared at the Blue Blur and his companion from inside of it, flickering like still-burning pieces of charcoal.  
"Long time no see, EggRobo!" the Blue Blur waved at the sea monster cheerfully as Miles fought the urge to hide behind the hedgehog's back.  
"Silence!" the oviform robot sitting inside the cockpit barked, its tone - a poor imitation of its creator's voice. "I'm Doctor Robotnik, the greatest scientific genius in the world! Coming here was a mistake, you blue rodent… But thanks for giving me a perfect opportunity to test out my newest invention - the Egg-Hydra!"  
Sonic and Tails had barely enough time to react as one of the machine's tentacles came slamming down where they stood only a fraction of a second before.  
"This bozo's timing couldn't be worse" Sonic muttered, landing on his feet and then turned to his two-tailed friend: "I'll take care of him. Get to high ground and see if you can still track that signal!"  
Miles nodded and began spinning his tails preparing to take off the ground. All of a sudden the Egg-Hydra's arm closest to him came to life and before the fox could react it swung with unexpected swiftness. Sonic felt his heart drop as the giant metallic limb knocked his poor sidekick out cold, sending him fly overboard.  
"TAILS!"

A terrible impact with a multi-ton piece of metal made Miles black out momentarily. When he regained consciousness seconds later, the fox found himself submerged in the cold water of the river. There was movement all around: dark menacing shapes darted in the silt, leaving trails of bubbles and algae behind them. Trying to stay focused despite the throbbing pain in the back of his skull, Tails swam upwards; his lungs screaming for a gulp of air. Finally emerging on the surface the cub breathed oxygen in greedily, at the same time attempting to locate the boat he fell off of.  
Something launched itself at him from beneath and intuitively Miles dodged to the side, just barely avoiding two lines of sharp teeth. Realizing that he was still in danger, the fox worked his tails to get out of the water. A second polymer-scaled piranha bot jumped after him intent on bringing its victim down, but Tails was already too high up and its jaws nibbled on thin air.  
"Sonic! The water's full of badniks!" Miles tried to warn his pal, but the hedgehog didn't hear him.  
Hovering at a safe distance, the fox watched the Blue Blur roll out of the way of one of the Egg-Hydra's tentacles and then immediately hop onto it in an effort to get closer to the pilot. The latter anticipated this move however as two more arms blocked Sonic's approach, throwing him off.  
"Get a load of this, you irritating pest!" the EggRobo's voice resounded as the paired guns on the mechanical monster's head kindled with green light, charging up before the blast.  
The weapon fired a focused beam of pure energy that melted every inch of the ship's hull it touched. Its brilliant radiation forced Miles to cover his eyes and - unwilling to become an easy target for the next volley - the fox hurried to land on the roof of the second ferryboat he and Sonic saw earlier. Here the curious onlookers flooded the deck, discussing the spectacle before them and taking pictures of the ongoing battle.  
From his vantage point Tails watched Sonic dance between the deadly tentacles of the Egg-Hydra as if trying to entangle the machine on itself.  
"Stand still, you insufferable rodent!"  
EggRobo waited for the perfect moment to engage the laser cannons and when the Blue Blur stopped dead center in his sights the robot pulled the trigger without hesitation. Unfortunately this was exactly the reaction the hedgehog was counting on: Sonic immediately rushed out of the line of fire and as the giant sea serpent turned its metallic muzzle after the running target it cut several of its own limbs off in the process. At this the mad AI roared with anger, but the spiked hero couldn't help a smug grin.  
"This is just too easy!"

The excited talks among the passengers turned to cries of fear when the torn pieces of the Egg-Hydra crashed into the water, causing the pleasure craft to tilt wildly. Eager to get out of harm's way people hurried inside in unorganized throngs.  
Among the flow of frightened human beings Tails noticed a little outlander girl trying to find her parents in the indifferent crowd. Another shockwave came and the child, taken aback by the violent shaking of the vessel, lost her footing and slid off deck only narrowly clinging to the railing.  
"Hang on!" the fox shouted and jumped to the lower level of the ship, determined to save the unfortunate youngster.  
Yet just as Miles took the first couple of steps in her direction a purple streak rushed past him with unbelievable speed. The wrist communicator on the fox's arm instantly came to life, beeping with startling intensity.  
"No way..." Tails gasped under his breath, checking the gadget's readings.  
A person hunched over the little girl helping her climb back aboard the ship. Shaking and with eyes full of tears the poor thing clung to her savior despite the fact that the latter wasn't even human: the female hedgehog did her best to comfort the rescued child, stroking the kid's hair and whispering words of encouragement. Then the planet Freedom native stood up and called out to men and women scurrying around:  
"Alright, whose child is this?! And will someone please tell the captain to put the ship in reverse and get us out of here?!"  
Although her attire seemed nothing short of rebellious, the hedgehog wore a full set of clothes like the outlander etiquette demanded and one of her emerald green eyes was obscured by a long bang of violet hair.  
But more importantly - she was the one Sonic and Tails came looking for, according to the fox's scanner.

Damaged and hesitant to fire its blasters again the Egg-Hydra proved to be an easy opponent. Jumping from one of the remaining tentacles to another Sonic got onto the sea serpent's neck and forced the machine to faceplant into the ferryboat.  
"Just wait till I'll get my hands on that little…" EggRobo grumbled, struggling to unfasten the seat belt that held him in place.  
Suddenly the Blue Blur appeared just outside the cockpit. He winked at the irritated pilot before turning into a spiked ball that spun so fast it resembled a sphere of glowing plasma.  
"Curses!" the robotic pilot yelped seconds before the supersonic drill pierced the bullet-proof glass, cutting him in half and breaking through the armored plating on the other side of the Egg-Hydra's head.  
"Better luck next time, scrap brain!" Sonic jeered uncurling in mid-air, but as he lost momentum the hedgehog plummeted down towards the river. "In hindsight maybe this wasn't such a good idea…"  
He waved his hands desperately trying to grab onto something, but in vain. The Blue Blur took a deep breath, mentally preparing for the dip, but at the last possible moment - when the surface of the water was mere centimeters away - someone tugged at Sonic's arm, hindering his fall.  
"Phew, that was close!" Miles exhaled, spinning his tails as fast as he could to keep them both aloft.  
"Thanks, buddy!" the hedgehog gave his sidekick a thumbs up. "You had me worried back there... Glad to see you're okay!"  
They heard a loud gurgling noise behind them as the unmanned metallic monstrosity released its grip on the ship and withdrew back into the river.  
"Finding my mother will be a lot harder now that the egghead knows we're here" the Blue Blur sighed, looking at the myriad of bubbles left behind by the retreating Egg-Hydra.  
"Oh, I already found the person Robotnik was tracking!" Tails announced with pride. "She looks too young to be your mom, but… Oh no!"  
Sonic followed his friend's agitated gaze just in time to see the female hedgehog Miles saw earlier leap from the ferryboat onto the river bank in a similar manner they sneaked aboard one of those ships only minutes ago.  
"Is that her?"  
As the fox carried him to the nearest ship the Blue Blur watched the purple lady dart through the steady stream of cars. In the blink of an eye she was on the other side of the road and Tails's watch instantly announced the presence of a powerful source of Chaos energy nearby. Before the two made it onboard however the female hedgehog hopped on a sport bike parked outside one of the many stores situated along the river and vanished in the traffic of a nearby side street.

"We have to catch up to her" Sonic stated as soon as they were on solid ground again.  
Tails nodded his agreement, but the young fox's attention was focused on the wrist communicator.  
"Whoever she is, her talent to control the power of Chaos is amazing" he said, inspecting the newly acquired piece of data. "Energy surges all around every time she calls upon her abilities... And that's why the phenomenon seemed to occur at random intervals of time without any rhyme or reason."  
Miles raised his eyes at his friend.  
"The good news is that the power of Chaos of such magnitude leaves an imprint on everything it touches. I think I can track her in the streets of Cloud City, but we need to act quickly" the wunderkind fox handed Sonic the earpiece they used to land the Tornado earlier. "You move faster on your own… I'll follow close behind and give you directions over the radio."  
"Good idea" the Blue Blur put the gadget on and stretched his legs, getting ready for a long run. "More badniks might be patrolling the district so be on your guard, Tails!"  
And with that the hedgehog dashed away.  
Left alone Miles felt the exhaustion of the long and eventful day catch up to him. Water still dripped from the fox's fur and his entire body ached, begging for a short break. But as Tails's ears caught the approaching wail of police sirens he realized that the longed-for rest would have to wait.

Following his two-tailed navigator's instructions the Blue Blur ventured deeper into Cloud City until he reached an enormous rock hidden at the very heart of the floating archipelago. The traffic here was virtually non-existent and when Sonic crossed the bridge connecting the central landmass with one of the flashy districts surrounding it the hedgehog stopped in surprise.  
Suspended in the air by its anti-gravitational core, the island must've been the largest of them all, but also the least populated one with most of its surface covered by what appeared to be virgin forests. All Sonic could see before him was a dark sea of trees with only a few bright lines of roads cutting through it. Highways - similar to the one he followed to get here – were elevated above the highest treetops and seemed to stretch endlessly to the very horizon.  
"This must be the famous Millennium Park, I've read about" Tails's voice said into the hedgehog's ear, explaining the panorama. "It's the biggest natural reserve of flora and fauna indigenous to the outlanders' home planet. They've recreated parts of their native landscape complete with lakes, rivers and even canyons… That place is amazing!"  
"We'll be sure to stop and sniff the flowers on our way back, Tails. What about our objective?"  
"Give me a moment…" the fox went silent on the other end for a few seconds. "The trail is getting faint, but you must be very close. Just continue down this path and you should catch up to her shortly."  
Sonic darted forwards, creating a blast of air strong enough to make the trees on both sides of the road bend after him. He ran for a little while and then finally saw a solitary dot on the distant motorway that soon took on the form of a spiked figure pressed against a speeding motorcycle. There was an opening between them and the Blue Blur jumped off the paved road onto the grass below to cut off a corner.  
The hedgehog could see the meadow before him clearly in the bright of the full moon even though very few stars were visible due to light pollution coming from the adjacent urban areas. Sonic had almost made it to the first line of trees on the other side of the clearing when a burst of light caught his attention. The Blue Blur instinctively dived to the side, his lightning fast reflexes saving the hedgehog from certain doom as the patch of land he was just on turned into a miniature fuming crater, filling the air with the smell of burning grass.  
"What was that? Sonic, what happened?" Miles cried in the speaker agitated by the explosion, but his friend didn't answer.  
Sonic stood his ground, looking intently at a dark shadow lingering silently several meters above the land.  
"I don't have time to play with you right now… Get out of my way!" the hedgehog demanded, ready to roll out of the way of a new blast at any moment.  
But the thing didn't resume its attack. Instead it descended slowly and touched down with a low metallic thud. Its two inexpressive glowing eyes ignited with fearsome intensity and Sonic realized that he was looking at a monstrously distorted mechanical copy of his own self.  
"Metal?" the Blue Blur asked in disbelief. "What are you doing here?"  
"And so we meet at last, Sonic the Hedgehog."  
The cold voice coming from behind the robotic hedgehog made Sonic tense despite himself. A small and unsettlingly familiar hovercraft appeared next to Metal as if materializing from thin air. The prickly hero clenched his fists, half expecting to see the odious face of himself at the helm of what has been the villain's preferred mode of transportation for many years… But was surprised to discover a young blonde – practically a child – piloting the Egg Mobile.  
"We have been waiting for this moment for far too long… Haven't we, Metal?" the stranger said menacingly, her eyes hidden behind a pair of engineering goggles. "Today you're going to answer for what you've done to both of us."  
"Um… Do I know you..?" Sonic faltered, now more confused than alerted.  
"Silence!" the girl growled in the tone of someone used to ordering people around. "You have taken everything from me! You and those pathetic Freedom Fighters..."  
The young human trembled visibly, trying to keep her anger under control.  
"I've lost everyone I ever loved… Everyone I ever held dear. And it's all because of... Because of YOU!"  
"Now wait a moment!" Sonic held up his hand defensively. "I don't even understand what are you…"  
"SHUT UP!" the girl's voice broke. "You and all those fighting with you! This is all YOUR fault!.."  
She turned to the mechanical hedgehog that didn't budge an inch this whole time, patiently awaiting her command.  
"I want this creature eradicated, Metal. Make mincemeat out of him… Give it all you've got!"  
The robot instantly stirred to action, its claws extending with a distinct chunking. The metallic abomination threw itself at Sonic, aiming to tear him apart piece by piece. Dodging a deadly blow, aimed at his throat, the hedgehog found himself thinking:  
"Well, now it's getting interesting…"


	3. Episode III Family Ties

**Episode III. Family Ties**

"From the Cloud City Historical Archive databanks:  
Dr. Ivo Robotnik, born approx. 130CE in the region of the Old Earth known as Eastern Europe. His experience in industrial engineering and cybernetics earned him a position as Chief Engineer aboard a colony ship during the Second Exodus…  
…celebrated as one of the founding fathers and most notable citizens of Cloud City after the many discoveries made by Dr. Robotnik himself - including the method of robotization - were implemented by his company "ROBOTNIK ENGINEERINGS", not only improving the living conditions of the new wave of colonists, but also greatly speeding up the process of human adaptation to the conditions of our new home planet…  
…expressing the belief that building a strong bond between the human nation and the native peoples of the planet Freedom was essential in setting up a brighter future in which everyone would live in harmonious prosperity. Dr. Ivo Robotnik later volunteered to act as an emissary on behalf of Cloud City and a foreign advisor to the king of Mobius…  
…barbarous king, drunk with power and blinded by the technological superiority that allowed him to bombard his country's former adversaries back into Stone Age, fell victim to his own ambitions as a military coup took place in the capital of Mobius. Dr. Robotnik sought support in the City Council to authorize an intervention and prevent Mobians from wiping their own kingdom off the map…  
…suspicions were raised, some even going as far as accusing Dr. Robotnik of overstepping his boundaries as the Prime Minister of Mobius. The head of the "ROBOTNIK ENGINEERINGS" later released a statement claiming that the Mobian society wasn't yet ready for a more active form of international integration…  
…the project which he was quoted to call "the crowning achievement of his career". The malicious tongues across the globe - and especially in the Capital City - dubbed it "the Death Egg" because of the similarities in design to a fictional weapon of mass destruction in the old era science fiction. Known for his healthy sense of humor, Dr. Robotnik adopted the nickname as the official title, but emphasized the fact that the space station was intended only as a deep space exploration and terraforming tool and would not carry weaponry of any kind…  
…the Cloud City citizens were shocked to learn that after the repeated attempt to get the now legendary space station into orbit, the Death Egg apparently exploded minutes after reaching the planet Freedom's exosphere. On board the vessel were several hundred personnel including the world renowned scientist and engineer Dr. Ivo Robotnik. Following the tragic event the official sources put the blame for sabotaging the Death Egg's engines on the international terrorist organization known as the "Freedom Fighters"…  
…stating that "ROBOTNIK ENGINEERINGS" has not yet fully recovered after the loss of its CEO. The company is currently being led by Dr. Robotnik's only surviving blood relative…"

Not a simple botanical garden, but effectively a piece of their lost home world the outlanders brought with them to planet Freedom, the Millennium Park has always been the pride and glory of the Cloud City denizens. Keeping an enormous island floating several kilometers above the sea level, let alone tending to the many diverse plants that covered its surface was no easy task and to make it possible an uncountable amount of scanners and mechanisms lay hidden inside of the flying rock. The same complex system that kept the sky over the park clear during the day for hikers and other visitors to enjoy, during the night showered the isle with enough water to keep the forests and meadows it carried lush and perfectly green.  
The cycle repeated itself endlessly with no exceptions and so when the clock struck two in the morning, heavy rain clouds began to gather above the Millennium Park. Afraid that an occasional lightning might start a wildfire, the brilliant minds behind the weather control machine made sure that no electrical discharge could occur, but today a random onlooker could see something unusual: now and then the darkness over the central island would light up with a bright flash. It wasn't a naturally formed thunderbolt that caused this however, but rather a thin blinding line of energy that hit the ground with a loud bang that could be heard from many miles away.  
The few people who flocked together on nearby islands to watch the spectacle exchanged confused glances and wondered what might've been causing it. No one knew for sure and almost nobody noticed a single tiny dot reluctantly flying towards the incipient storm: Tails, shaking from the cold wind, resented the idea of getting his fur wet again. But his best friend was in trouble and the brave little fox had no choice, but to press onwards.

Sonic darted to the side, just barely avoiding another plasma blast that left a deep hole in the ground and scattered pebbles everywhere. The blue hedgehog ran in zigzags to make himself a hard target and waited for the right moment to shift the battlefield to a more favorable spot. He heard two more explosions behind him, but the rainfall made it hard to detect where the shots came from. Sonic knew that Metal won't be satisfied with gunplay for long and anticipated the robot to come down and get close and personal at any second.  
The grass under the hedgehog's feet grew slippery and the drops of water got into his eyes – the terrible downpour that started so suddenly definitely complicated things. It was getting hard to see in front of him and Sonic had to wipe his face with his glove. At the last second the Blue Blur noticed a shadow launch at him from the side. Sonic rolled out of its way, feeling Metal's titanium claws skim him on the shoulder. The hero stopped and turned around, knowing that his grotesque mechanical copy will come back to try and tear him into pieces.  
Despite the greatly reduced visibility Sonic identified the contrail left behind by the turbine on Metal's back and watched the enemy approach until he could easily distinguish two murderous red eyes rapidly closing in on him. The hedgehog realized with painful clarity that even for him there was no outrunning the fastest robot Dr. Robotnik ever created under such conditions… Which pretty much meant he had to risk a direct confrontation. And here Sonic wagered everything on his metallic copy's contempt for organic life forms.  
The Blue Blur let Metal get even closer, pretending to struggle to make out anything in the rain and hoping that the latter will severely underestimate his ability to perceive things in bad weather. Then, when the distance between them seemed dangerously short, Sonic jumped in the air and bounced off of the robot's head, forcing Metal to dive into the soft soil below, digging himself in. Unwilling to let the opportunity go to waste the real hedgehog dashed towards the nearest batch of trees as soon as he regained his footing. Out in the open his adversary had the upper hand with the ability to fly and use Sonic for shooting practice… But in the forest the odds were even.  
Within seconds the spiky hero reached the edge of the clearing and whisked behind a particularly thick pine tree. No doubt Metal would soon be on his tail again, but Sonic had to use this fleeting pause to warn his partner to stay out of danger.  
"Come in, Tails!" the hedgehog said, tapping on the earpiece and praying that the excessive moisture didn't damage it.  
At first he could hear only static, but then the fox cub's excited voice rang on the other end:  
"Sonic! Am I glad to hear you!.. What happened there?"  
"I've ran into an old familiar face" the Blue Blur jeered in his usual manner. "Let's just say Metal was real happy to see me."  
"Metal Sonic is alive? And he's here?!"  
"Don't worry – I can handle this" Sonic reassured Tails, cautiously peeking out of his hiding place. "In the meanwhile you should catch up to our mystery gal."  
"Me? But what am I going to say to her?"  
"You'll figure something out…" the hedgehog chuckled. "Sorry, buddy. I've got my hands full already."  
The fox grunted in acknowledgement and the line went silent. Sonic listened intently for any signs of pursuit, but the only sound he could hear was the rain drumming on the foliage. Puzzled at what might've taken Metal so long, the hedgehog planned his next move when someone's words spoken behind his back made him flinch.  
"There's no point in hiding you know..."  
The Blue Blur turned to find the girl with the golden hair from earlier hanging in the air in her Egg Mobile only a few meters away from him.  
"With the upgrades I've given to Metal he can basically see you through walls" she finished and her mouth curled into a cruel grin.  
Sonic interpreted the menace in the stranger's tone and rushed to the side just in time: the trunk that served him as cover exploded into countless charred splinters. The hedgehog ran deeper into the woods, followed by Metal who seemed to prefer mowing down trees and bushes instead of dodging them. The forest critters, unaccustomed to anything louder than the humming of cars on distant highways, scrambled all around and Sonic had to make sure not to step on anyone. The chase didn't last long however – the thicket abruptly ended and without any warning the rolling hills covered with abundant plant life changed to a steep slope with nothing, but blackthorns covering its rocky surface.  
Stopping mere inches from the cliff Sonic took a moment to look around and noted that the rain began to abate. Whether this was because he ventured into a different region of the park that didn't require as much watering or the storm has simply ran its course he didn't know, but either way it made him happy to be able to see more clearly. The crevice he almost plunged down into stretched out for at least a mile and at the bottom a river flowed, fueled by streams of rainwater that cascaded into the gorge.  
The noise of the approaching rocket engine caught the hedgehog's attention and sure enough Metal Sonic emerged from the shade of the trees. The machine hesitated only momentarily before resuming attack, but this time it exercised more caution and didn't throw itself at the opponent posthaste. Only thanks to the Blue Blur's superfast reflexes was he able to evade the carefully aimed lethal slash. Jumping out of Metal's way Sonic tried to lure his abominable doppelganger to the patch of land at the brink of the precipice where the shaky ground wouldn't support the weight of the robot.  
The trick worked and Metal, trying to get a hold on his fleshy copy landed on a rock that gave way under him. The mechanical hedgehog stumbled for only a fraction of a second, giving Sonic ample time to deliver a powerful kick that sent it into an uncontrollable fall into the pit below.  
"Well… Someone sure let themselves go since the last time we met" the spiky hero said, breathing heavily. "You used to be pre…"  
The Blue Blur couldn't finish the insult however as the blast wave of a missile that detonated in close proximity knocked the hedgehog off his feet.

"I will never… Leave home again… Without an umbrella."  
Tails couldn't remember when was the last time he felt so exhausted. Perhaps he never did. The fox imagined the mass of cold water he carried in his soaked coat dragging him down like an anchor, but that wasn't even the worst part about his current predicament. All his efforts have been for naught: the signal Sonic asked him to follow had vanished without a trace along with their chances to contact the one person they came to Cloud City to find. For what now seemed like eternity Tails kept on flying in the last direction the scanner pointed to before going silent. This endeavor grew more and more pointless by the minute, but the wunderkind kept telling himself that he couldn't afford to fail his best friend.  
Just when the fox started questioning his own self-worth again, the sea of treetops beneath ceased and a brightly lit panorama outspread itself before him: situated on the very edge of the island lay an entire town of expansive and fancy villas, each with its own adjacent garden or a golf field. The houses were arranged into three semicircles with the main road passing between them so from afar the neighborhood kind of resembled a shamrock. This, Tails remembered, were the Millennium Springs, one of Cloud City's most expensive and prestigious districts. But more importantly, on the hill overlooking the illuminated cottage village the fox noticed a viewpoint outfitted with an overhang to protect a belated visitor from precipitation.  
Eager to let his fur dry for a bit, Tails swooped down towards the observation deck. As the fox got nearer he noticed a lone figure under the canopy that must've had the same idea. He couldn't be sure because of the distance that separated them, but Tails thought the person that stood leaning against the railing appeared rather short for an adult outlander. On closer inspection he also noted that whoever they were, that somebody also sported a particularly strange haircut that looked a lot like hedgehog quills… But only after the fox caught a glimpse of the sport bike parked under the same tent did his tired mind realize: "those ARE hedgehog quills!"  
Overjoyed, Tails hastily landed onto the viewing platform and hurried to shelter himself from the rain. The purple hedgehog lady, alarmed to the sound of the cub's sneakers splashing in puddles, turned to face him and by the look of surprise he received Tails guessed she didn't see many two-tailed foxes around here.  
"H-Hello there! My name's Miles…" he said, awkwardly waving his hand. "But my friends call me Tails… Pleased to meet you!"  
Taken aback the girl didn't answer right away, giving Tails a chance to take a closer look at her. She was about Sonic's age and wore a full set of clothing that included a sleeveless top and a short black skirt as well as a pair of high boots. As the fox noted earlier one of her emerald-colored eyes was constantly concealed by a long bang of hair.  
"Um, hi…" the female hedgehog finally responded crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow. "Do I know you?"  
"Actually we met about an hour ago… On the ferry boat?" Tails continued, trying his hardest not to mumble. "I've seen you save a kid from falling into the river. That sure was something!.."  
"I'm sorry, little fox. You must be mistaken. I definitely haven't ridden on any ferry boats today..."  
"Oh, no-no - it's okay!" Tails hastened to reassure the girl who immediately took a step back away from him. "We know about your abilities. In fact me and my friend… We came to this city looking for you!"  
"Ri-i-ight…" the hedgehog replied, eyeing the weird mutant fox before her suspiciously. "Sorry, but I gotta go now. And look – the rain is almost over. So… Ciao!"  
With that she swiftly got on her bike and started the engine.  
"Wait! You've nothing to…"  
Tails's words drown in the roar of the wheels on the asphalted road and when the dust settled the fox was left alone on the ledge above the panorama of the luxurious village.  
"Well that could've gone better…"  
The wunderkind followed the motorcycle until it disappeared round the corner. Then he lowered his eyes to the floor and after a quick glance, picked up a single strand of violet hair.  
"Bingo!" the fox exclaimed and inserted the find into a microscopic slot on his wrist communicator. "It's good to always come prepared…"

Sonic opened his eyes to the Egg Mobile's painfully familiar shape looming menacingly towards him. The rain became nothing more than a light drizzle. The hedgehog slowly got up, ready to roll out of the way of the next projectile at any moment. It didn't come however and so he stayed put, waiting for the world to stop spinning and tossing. Sonic's head hurt like heck and he got a few scratches and bruises while tumbling on stones after the explosion lifted him off the ground, but otherwise he was unharmed.  
The hovercraft halted and the hero once again found himself face-to-face with its young pilot.  
"Not going to sugarcoat it… That was a very cheap shot" Sonic dropped casually as if during a friendly game of ping pong.  
"Shut up!" the blonde girl snapped, losing her temper. "I should finish you off right now… But that honor shall belong to Metal."  
"Just what is your deal anyway? Wouldn't you want me to understand what's going on?"  
She didn't answer right away as if weighing his words and when the young lass spoke there was ice in her voice.  
"My name is Hope Robotnik… You've murdered my uncle – Dr. Ivo Robotnik."  
"That's it, huh..." for Sonic the perspective of his archnemesis having any living relatives didn't exactly fit in the head. "And here I always thought that Eggman was… One of a kind."  
"Oh, enough of this!" infuriated, Hope slammed her hand on the dashboard of the Egg Mobile. "Metal, destroy him!"  
The Blue Blur could feel the gust of wind as his gruesome metallic clone launched up into the sky from the chasm behind his back. The plasma gun in his arm at the ready, Metal Sonic aimed it at what he considered a weakened and disoriented foe… Exactly what the original blue hedgehog had counted on: in a moment's notice Sonic leaped forward and dived under the hovercraft. The deadly beam sunk into the side of the Egg Mobile, breaking through its armor and sending up a shower of sparks.  
The hero sprung to his feet and looked behind him, expecting the persistent robot to unleash a barrage of energy shots, but to his great bewilderment saw the later descent towards the upset vehicle that lay on its side. Sonic watched as Metal helped Hope get out of the wreckage with inconceivable care for something that was designed as Eggman's personal robotic assassin.  
"I'm fine, I'm fine…" he heard Robotnik's niece say and even though the hedgehog couldn't see her eyes behind the goggles, he thought he heard tears in the girl's words. "Sorry, Metal... I messed up."  
Sonic couldn't detect any response from the robot, but in the next instance Hope resumed her monologue as if Metal did answer her.  
"Of course, you're right" she said and then directed a threat to the real Blue Blur in a much harsher tone: "I've allowed you to outsmart me this time… But just you wait, you spiky menace!"  
The mechanical hedgehog picked his human master up and together they flew off into the sky. Soon their silhouettes disappeared beyond the thinning clouds and Sonic was left to ponder about what he just witnessed.  
"Sonic, are you there?" Tails said into his ear, returning the Blue Blur to the present. "Is everything alright?"  
"Yeah, all's good. Got rid of Metal… At least for now."  
"That's great, Sonic! In the meanwhile I managed to track the hedgehog we've been looking for" the fox sounded proud he didn't let his partner down. "There's a suburban area in the Eastern region of the island. She's headed there right now!"  
"I'm on it!.. Great work, buddy" Sonic praised his partner at the same time picking up speed. "I knew I could count on you!"  
"There's one more thing, Sonic. I was also able to obtain a DNA sample and analyze it…"

It was a rough awakening. As if the world stopped dead in its tracks like a car that almost ran over a small furry animal, Nemo got thrust ahead, breaking a barrier that might as well been the windshield. His still fuzzy mind racing with a thousand questions, the man lifted himself up from the floor littered with shards of broken glass, only miraculously avoiding cutting his fingers. The room the wanderer now occupied was dim, but in the reddish glow of warning lights Nemo could make out his own reflection in the individual splinters.  
"…loyal like a dog…" the words of the mysterious person he met in his dreams emerged from the depths of the man's memory.  
He looked like a dog, alright. A member of the tribe of sapient canines native to planet Freedom to be exact. Nemo felt the need to flick himself on the nose and reach for one of his own brightly colored ears to make sure the impression of his body he saw in the broken glass was accurate. The wanderer's curiosity thus satisfied, he set about identifying his current whereabouts.  
The chamber, filled to the brim with all sorts of containers, didn't seem too elegant with its walls made of solid metal and lacking any kind of decorations. Nemo located a single unmarked door in the far end of the compartment and when the dog came closer it slid to the side, letting him through and into the dark corridor beyond. Here the smell of gasoline reigned supreme and he could hear someone's screams coming from afar. Conscious of the toxic fumes Nemo raced along the hallway looking for an exit. He came upon an intersection and noticed an opening on the right from which rays of brilliant light poured in. On close inspection the hole turned out to be a hatch that got blown off its hinges. Aiming to get out of this place as soon as possible, Nemo stepped into the hot evening air outside and jumped down, blinded by the luminescence of the sun that already began to sink to the horizon.  
Luckily the solid ground was not too far below and the sand served to cushion his fall. The scene that opened up before his eyes however made the dog forget about the possibly sprained ankle: the surrounding area was arid with dunes that seemed to drag until the very skyline where the gold of the desert met with the lilac underbelly of heaven. But the endless web of pipes that dotted those dusty hills happened to be even more impressive than the nature of this place itself. The closest one to Nemo had to be at least five meters in diameter and bore sinister-looking insignias of a madly grinning face on its smooth surface.  
Behind him some kind of heavy flying transport lay tilted on the side and over it towered a high crag made of enormous boulders in places covered with cacti. Judging by the blast marks on the hull of the vehicle the wanderer deduced that it must've been downed by a powerful anti-air missile. However, try as he might to remember by what quirk of fate he awoke in the cargo hold of that leviathan, the dog's memory - like before - outright refused to cooperate. Lost in thought, Nemo didn't notice someone approach him from behind and barely kept his balance after being rudely shoved aside.  
"Out of the way, pup!"  
A group of anthropomorphs covered with grey fur went by him. Quickly recollecting himself the wanderer recognized them to be wolves - the Southern prairies dwellers. The surly bunch that passed him were dressed in what he could only describe as tribal wear, but also carried with them an array of technologically advanced equipment, including firearms and explosives. The leader of the squad – a female in a blue suit and the black hair on her head tied in a long braid – rallied the troops and barked orders to her comrades.  
"Berta, Luke – see if anyone's still inside. The rest of you – follow me… We don't have much time!"  
Two of the canines separated from the group and ran back to the ship, ignoring Nemo completely, while the others made their way towards the hillside and almost instantly vanished in a ravine that the dog didn't even spot before.  
Not willing to let the first people he met in this wasteland out of his sight, yet at the same time not particularly eager to climb back aboard the shuttle that might have exploded at any minute, the wanderer rushed to overtake the Wolf Clan troops. Retracing their footsteps Nemo discovered a path leading through a narrow cleft that grew wider the deeper he travelled. The dog expected to gain on the natives quickly, but with every turn became increasingly aware how much he underestimated their movement speed. Finally the canine came to a place where the gorge translated into a literal canyon and stopped to take a breather.  
Here something entirely different caught his attention as Nemo noticed the earth all around him shake in rhythmic succession. Puzzled as to what was causing such miniature earthquake, the wanderer got an answer to his question when a hulking metallic shape made an entrance from the opposite end of the valley. The ginormous machine walked on two monstrous legs that crushed everything in its way like a pair of hydraulic presses. Its exterior painted green, Nemo could discern the markings on the robot's massive frame identical to those he saw on the pipes earlier.  
"What the..?"  
Bewildered, the wanderer watched as the terrible thing slowly readied a kind of cannon on its shoulder not realizing that there has been only one logical target for it to shoot at. By the time he got over the initial shock of encounter the machine had already charged its blaster and all Nemo could do is shield himself from the deadly burst of energy with his arms. The gun fired and the dog clenched his teeth, not hoping to open his eyes ever again…

"Nice bike! You're quite a speed addict, aren't you?"  
"What?!" the lady hedgehog exclaimed, almost releasing her grip on the handlebars. "How are you..?"  
She's been only a few minutes away from the first row of the brightly lit houses when one of her brethren popped up right next to her, easily keeping pace with the speeding motorcycle.  
"You must be. I've been trying to catch up to you this whole evening… And they call me the fastest thing alive" Sonic smirked, not even bothering to look what was in front of him.  
The purple hedgehog didn't reply, but hit the gas, squeezing out maximum speed out of her iron steed and momentarily leaving the Blue Blur behind. The latter soon reappeared by her side however, jokingly clapping his hands.  
"Not bad, not bad… But I think you'd be able to go even faster on your own" Sonic said reassuringly.  
"And what the heck makes you think that?"  
"Because I know *I* can go faster than that… And I'm sure my sister can too."  
The brakes squealed and the girl steered into the skid. She jumped off the sport bike and gave Sonic who also stopped nearby a long wistful stare.  
"Did you just call me… Sister?" the female hedgehog said, in a less challenging tone.  
"The name's Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog" the Blue Blur extended his arm instead of a straight answer.  
"Sonia Windermere" the other said as they shook hands and then added after an awkward pause: "I'm honestly not sure what to say, um… Always had a sneaking suspicion I wasn't the only freakishly fast hedgehog out there, but…"  
Sonia broke off mid-sentence having to step out of the way of Tails smashing into the ground.  
"Would it kill you two… To go… A little slower for a change?" the fox snorted, panting heavily.  
"Oh, I'm sure you already met Miles" Sonic introduced his partner and best friend with a theatrical gesture. "But – as he no doubt already informed you - you can call him Tails."  
"Yes, we've met… Sorry I ditched your earlier" the girl hedgehog giggled, helping Tails back on his feet. "Want a ride? My place isn't very far away from here, but I think you exercised enough for one day."  
"You live here? In Millennium Springs?!" the fox asked, obviously impressed.  
"Well, yeah. My family is out for the weekend, so you can stay the night if you want."  
"Your FAMILY?" Sonic and Tails repeated in unison.

The impact of a plasma blast resounded through the canyon. Nemo felt a wave of extreme heat pass right by him and… Nothing happened. The destructive machine hesitated as if too confused by the result of its assault, but before the wanderer could reflect on what happened any further a pair of strong arms seized him and pulled out of the line of fire and into a nook behind two large slabs of stone pressed together.  
"Alright, who or what the hell are you?"  
Someone spoke into his ear and the dog recognized the harsh voice of the wolf warriors' leader. However Nemo also noted a gun barrel pointing him right between the eyes.  
"Woah-woah, wait a second!" he pleaded, looking at the armed to the teeth canines that surrounded him. "I'm not your enemy!"  
"Oh yeah?" the she wolf growled, grabbing him by the wrist and pulling the dog into the light. "Then explain this."  
The wanderer opened his mouth to ask if she was out of her mind, but stumbled: in the faint light of the alcove he saw that instead of his own normal hand his arm ended with a deformed metallic palm with three larger than life chromed claws.


	4. Episode IV Matter of Perspective

Episode IV. Matter of Perspective

Located in the outskirts of Cloud City, on one of the bigger floating islands designated specifically for industrial use, Robotnik Engineerings headquarters towered over an incandescent grid of surrounding factories and power plants. The processes that took place inside this seemingly dormant giant were for the most part automated and so only a rare manager or a sleepy technician occasionally disturbed the silence of the pristine white corridors, hurrying from their oversized cubicles to the coffee machine and back. These people's collective conscience, appeased by sizable paychecks with impressive bonuses and considerable social packages, ignored any rumor that might have otherwise tarnished the company's reputation in their eyes. "Whatever the board of directors decides goes" went the saying and the employees did what they had to, no questions asked.

Just as well anyway: everything that happened in those tidy white halls was just a façade meant to divert the attention of the public. The cogs that kept the Eggman Empire up and running lay hidden underground, in the system of artificial caverns, outfitted as laboratories, assembly rooms and datacenters. In one such unseen chamber a monstrous apparatus came to life in the middle of the night. A long conveyor belt, carrying what looked like an endless supply of huge metallic eggs, suddenly jerked forward, letting one of the objects slip off its end and into a broad glassy tube. From here it spiraled down into the lightless abyss below, faster and faster, until finally the freefall ended when a couple of massive clamps caught the oviform chunk of metal.

A myriad of smaller mechanisms came into motion and two more sets of manipulators brought additional parts – arms and legs – and welded them onto the motionless husk while a pair of cables attached themselves to its back. A nearby computer flickered as its monitor got invaded with greenish text that read:

" _EGG-ROBO 1.04 #43. UPLINK ESTABLISHED. UPDATING MEMORY BANKS. PLEASE WAIT…_ "

In a few seconds the procedure was over, the wires retracted and the clamps carefully put their burden on its feet before retreating into the mishmash of jumbled electronics. Absolute silence returned to the facility.

Moments later the newly assembled robot twitched and the pair of visual sensors on the upper segment of its torso ignited with fierce fire.

"Egg-Robo unit number forty three!" the computer, now in briefing mode, chimed in. "Hope Robotnik has been returned to the HQ with minor concussion 9 minutes ago. Your predecessor regrettably neglected its duties as a caretaker of Dr. Robotnik's niece…"

The rundown of objectives was cut short as a heavy titanium-reinforced fist landed on the viewscreen, covering it in a web of cracks.

"Blasted contraption!.." the egg-shaped android hissed, pretending to examine its hand for cuts and splinters. "And don't you dare repair yourself this time… Alright, listen up! I need full surveillance coverage of the downtown area of Cloud City. Find out where that pest went after he knocked me out. RIGHT NOW!"

Having given the orders the fake Ivo Robotnik stopped as if unsure how to proceed. Then after a hesitant pause it gave in to its programming and went to the medical bay.

The Windermere estate might've been the most peculiar house Sonic and Tails had ever seen. Surrounded by a moat of fountains and elegant bridges, it looked like a coat of futuristic outlander architecture was applied to an antique mansion, the kind of which old Mobian aristocrats used to own, before Eggman took over. But things got weirder still on the inside: among the normal furniture the guests would stumble upon items that just didn't belong. Scattered here and there, as if coughed out by some kind of an interdimensional portal, lay pieces of an ancient wooden warship, capsules with pickled alien creatures and an occasional dummy of a ferocious-looking lizard the likes of which humans depicted in the old Earth history books and called them "dinosaurs".

"Well, here we are!" Sonia announced as the entrance door closed behind them. "Help yourself to whatever you can find in the kitchen..."

In a few minutes she had to make a mental note never to use that phrase again since her newly found kin and his sidekick rummaged the fridge like they haven't eaten in weeks. Hotdogs, pizza slices, and even two servings of yesterday's chili con carne - nothing was spared the fate of being hastily microwaved and devoured on the spot.

"Gee. I'm surprised you two didn't eat the plates."

"Fighting killer robots really helps work up an appetite" Sonic smirked. "Now if you don't mind, I'd like to take a quick look around."

"Sure. Just take off your shoes before walking on the carpets and…" his sister never had a chance to finish the sentence as the Blue Blur instantly dashed away, the resulting gust of wind sending the napkins flying after him. "He's always in a hurry, isn't he?"

"Yeah, he can be kinda rash, but please don't hold it against him" Miles began to habitually explain his partner's behavior. "Everything just seems so much slower to Sonic than to the rest of us. You'd understand if you could run…"

Here the two-tailed fox faltered.

"I guess this doesn't really apply to you, huh?" he scratched his head, blushing lightly. "Sorry, I'm still getting used to the idea of there being someone else who can match Sonic's speed."

"Whatever…" Sonia growled, fixing her hair. "Now how about I give you a proper tour of the place?.."

"...I'm telling the truth. I have no idea what's going on!"

Surrounded on all sides by a resentful crowd of primal warriors, Nemo grabbed for straws struggling to explain his presence in the middle of their territory. It seemed to be an almost impossible task seeing how the wanderer himself couldn't make head or tail of it.

"An unlikely story" the leader of the pack snapped at him, motioning one of her more hefty comrades to step forward. "Magna, if you please."

"Look, I know this looks..." the dog was about to give diplomacy one more try, but lost the fresh line of thought when a gargantuan fist applied to his face tossed him across the room.

After wiping the floor with his own pelt, Nemo had to lean on his deformed robotic arm to rise from the cold stone floor. Dazzled, he could only discern the vague outlines of the Wolf Clan members, illuminated by the few torches the large canines carried with them.

"You're… Bleeding" the voice of their superior came from somewhere nearby.

"You weren't sure I could, huh?" the wanderer muttered, a salty iron taste on his lips and tongue.

"Trust me: we have all the reasons in the world to be suspicious" the she-wolf replied coldly, standing over him with her arms crossed.

"Well, then maybe you're less surprised by all this than I am…"

Nemo squeezed out a nervous chuckle, patting the monstrous limb that got him into this mess. No one seemed to appreciate the attempt to brighten up the mood however.

"You may be flesh and bone, at least partially" the pack leader continued in a tone that didn't sound reassuring in the least. "But by attracting our enemies' attention to these tunnels you rendered us a grave disservice, stranger."

She turned to the sentries posted near the entrance to the cave.

"Give me an update on the Scorcher."

"It's on the move again, Chief!" one of the lookouts – still just a puppy – responded, taking a peek outside. "It's coming this way now… What are we going to do, Lupe?"

There could be no doubt the youth spoke truthfully: everyone sensed the growing amplitude of jolts caused by the metallic hulk's steps. The cavern filled with a tumult of worried whispers and all eyes focused on Lupe: the wolves expected their leader to come up with a plan of action.

Grateful that he was no longer the center of attention, Nemo seized the opportunity to inspect the contraption that now replaced his right palm. The thing gave almost no sensory feedback, but its surface was still warm from absorbing that energy blast earlier. The dog had no problem deducing that the need to shield himself from imminent danger entailed the transformation, but the mechanisms behind it perplexed him. The evidence suggested that all of the fur below the shoulder simply melted together forming this new lustrous hide. The hand felt numb and no matter how hard Nemo tried he could scarcely make the heavy claws twitch. It was as if the entire limb belonged to a different entity with a mind of its own.

"...If the enemy uncovers the power line in these caverns the Hidden Canyon is as good as lost" Lupe thundered rallying the troops. "We have no choice - the Scorcher must be stopped! Ready the EMP charges!.."

The mechanical colossus must've been very close now: its massive frame blocked the last rays of the dying sun entering the hideout. As the wolves prepared to attack, their leader motioned two soldiers to guard the outsider.

"Stay with the prisoner. We don't know what his role in any of this is yet" the she-wolf commanded, before turning to the rest of her brethren who fell in line behind her back. "Now, brothers and sisters! For our families back home!"

With this she disappeared into the opening and the others followed, leaving only Nemo and his escort behind.

The air instantly filled with the sounds of battle cries and gunfire, muffled by the thickness of stone walls. The wanderer looked over his convoys, judging by their tense expressions that the duo would rather be fighting alongside their kin than be stuck watching a weirdo whom they also suspected of being a killing machine in disguise. He contemplated trying to reason with them when a new terrifying noise came from outside: the foe of the furry anthropomorphs unleashed its own arsenal, announced by a series of deafening explosions.

The entire mountain shook violently and rocks, small and big began to fall from the ceiling.

"The tunnels are about to collapse... Run for it!" one of the canines shrieked and rushed for the exit together with his partner.

Unwilling to end up buried under a pile of rubble, the wanderer hurried after his captors. When the three of them were almost through the clearing, another powerful discharge forced the cave to implode on itself, the resulting jolt causing everyone to lose their footing. Nemo had barely enough time to roll from under a falling slab the size of a delivery truck.

The dog found himself in the same spot were the natives had seized him minutes ago, only now the landscape appeared drastically changed. Dotted by small craters and wounds left by the Scorcher's energy weapon, in the crimson light of the sunset the canyon looked smeared in blood. The culprit of this change couldn't have been more than ten meters away, spinning in place, trying to fry the pestering tribesmen alive. Several of the wolves danced around the leviathan, keeping it busy while others climbed the rocks intending to jump down on its back.

Spellbound, the wanderer watched on as one of the decoys got caught by the deadly beam and the air filled with the nauseating smell of burnt fur. The shockwave threw another warrior onto the ground and the poor beast took way too long to pick herself up. The Scorcher turned and raised one of its megaton legs to crush the dazed victim.

If anybody cared to ask, Nemo wouldn't be able to explain if it was the heat of the moment or something else that made him spring into action. Against the better judgment and before either of his guards could do anything to stop him, the dog crossed the distance separating them from that scene of carnage in a few long strides. Leaping to the monster's other foot, still firmly planted into the ground; Nemo raised his deformed right arm and sunk its claws into the gigantic heel. The talons effortlessly cut through the armor, summoning a fountain of sparks. It took several more slashes, but finally the titan staggered and wobbled to the side.

Trying to regain balance the robot hastily lowered the undamaged support to the ground, missing the intended target by mere centimeters. The poor she-wolf yelped in fear, quickly regaining herself and darting for cover while the now one-legged lump of metal came tumbling down like a felled tree. The crash resounded for many miles around and once the dust settled, Nemo saw the crippled machine prostrated before him. The terminator wriggled, eager to get back up and finish its mission and the agitated voices of the tribal warriors echoed all around, but something else caught the wanderer's eye.

The dog watched in silent amazement as the freakish paw that he just used to strike the Scorcher down gradually disintegrated, leaving behind a more conventional palm with five flexible digits. Once again he didn't understand what exactly stimulated the change. Nemo was so preoccupied with guesses that he didn't hear Lupe shouting an order. Only when he heard loud metallic clanks did the dog look in front of him and noticed multiple miniature cylinders appearing on the defeated giant's back. Almost instantly the objects started to beep loudly and the single button on their top flashed red.

"What are you doing?! The charges will go off any second!.." someone's warning reached his ears, but by the time Nemo's distracted mind deciphered its meaning it was already too late to look for shelter.

"Not again..." he moaned, covering his head with both arms, wondering if some miraculous transformation will save him this time.

But it didn't have to. Moments before the detonation, someone slammed into the wanderer, pushing him behind a fresh heap of boulders. And then the entire canyon was engulfed in azure flames.

The impromptu tour of the house ended close to where it started: the ground floor living room was separated from the kitchen by a huge aquarium with an archway in the middle, in case a member of the household didn't feel like traversing the long windowless corridor while on their way for a midnight snack. The architect divided the salon into equally-sized halves: a richly decorated eatery with a dining table and a bar counter, and the other part serving as a comfortable home theater with a sofa, bunch of sitting puffs and a hammock, hanged between two potted palm trees. However to get to the latter one would have to scale a three steps staircase. The walls here were almost completely covered by pictures and shelves with all sorts of trinkets and souvenirs.

Sonia flopped onto the couch situated opposite an enormous TV set that happened to be almost as big as the fish tank that served as one of the walls and watched Tails scrutinize through the decorations. Presently the Prower kid had been studying a stone statuette that looked to him like one of the carvings he had seen in Sandolopolis on the Angel Island, but was actually supposed to be an artifact from Ancient Egypt.

"You sure have a lot of interesting specimens in here. Your parents must be world renowned collectors!" the fox commented, shifting his attention to a seemingly old pirate ship steering wheel.

"Well, sort of…" the female hedgehog responded with a yawn. "They're actors. All of this junk is just movie props."

The cub stopped in his track as if struck by lightning.

"M-movie props?" he echoed, unconcealed disappointment in his voice.

Tails was so distracted by the sudden realization he didn't hear Sonic enter the den, so when the hero spoke it made the fox flinch.

"Is this your family?" the Blue Blur asked pointing at one of the framed posters hanged in the far end of the room.

"Why? Can't you see the resemblance?" Sonia giggled, sitting up. "They say I have my mother's eyes!"

Miles inspected the picture his companion indicated. It captured four figures at a kind of rural dwelling called "a ranch", all of them wearing wide-brimmed herder hats. A pair of adult outlanders with perfect faces and pearly white smiles stood on both sides of a younger version of Sonia, who was hugging her sister. Her human sister, that is. The whole thing looked corny and a little surreal, like a chewing gum ad that someone forgot to add a slogan to, but that might've even been the photographer's intention.

"That's us at Mirage Saloon a few years ago. They were shooting a movie about some dude who got to this planet a couple of centuries earlier than most outlanders" the oddball of the Windermere family clarified. "It had a terrible script, but nothing a big talent like mom's can't save. She actually played one of the Wolf Clan members who took the poor guy in. The producer thought it would help the Cloud City audience to better identify with the character..."

Sonic and Tails exchanged confused glances.

"Oh, come on... What rock you guys live under?" Sonia inquired mockingly. "It was all over the tabloids when it came out. Well, you're bound to have seen this one."

With that she produced a remote from between the cushions of the sofa and pushed a button. The lights around the room grew dim and the larger than life flat screen came to life. After some more messing around with the controls the picture kicked in.

A bombastic bike chase with overabundance of explosions and numerous casualties among the bad guys commenced. The protagonist - a hedgehog with dark fur and an oversized semi-automatic - was riding along the busy city streets leaving enough corpses behind to fill up an entire cemetery. Then he somehow got onto one of the buildings and leaped across the gap between two offices, crashing through the glass ceiling.

The scene changed. Now the bloodthirsty maniac kept someone at gunpoint. That someone - unmistakably played by the man in the poster - wore a military uniform and got stuck in a pretentious monologue. Sonic couldn't tell which of the characters he was supposed to be rooting for and it didn't help that the text the stars had to work with didn't make much sense either.

"I don't get it" Miles admitted. "Why does he say his family died in the accident when he clearly stated only five minutes ago that this Maria gal was the only family he ever knew?"

Sonia clicked the remote again, switching the TV to some news channel and setting it to mute.

"Bad example, ha-ha!.. Give me a second – I think I know a movie you two will definitely like. It's about..."

"No thanks" Sonic interrupted her. "We already had too much excitement for one evening... Besides, I could never enjoy cinema without a bowl of popcorn and a bottle of soda."

"Your loss" the girl hedgehog shrugged and hurried to change the subject. "Anyway… Enough about me. What do you guys do for a living?"

Sonic opened his mouth to reply, but felt Tails tug on his hand.

"Look! It's us on the tube!"

The wunderkind was right: the image on the screen changed from a cozy studio to a security camera footage that showed the Egg-Hydra's attack on the ferry boat a couple of hours ago. The quality of the video left a lot to be desired and one could just barely make out a dark blue dot jumping around, avoiding the heavy tentacles that seemed to be trying to drag the pleasure craft to the bottom of the artificial river.

"...in an official statement made by Robotnik Engineerings, a prototype of a highly sophisticated deep underwater mining drone has been hijacked earlier tonight" the anchorman dictated as Sonia turned the volume up. "The perpetrators then sabotaged the machine's AI and directed it to attack civilian watercrafts in the tourist "heart" of the city. Eyewitnesses also report seeing a group of non-human hoodlums assaulting the public in an attempt to cause panic. The police reports that several of the culprits were identified as members of an international terrorist organization known as the Freedom Fighters..."

Miles's eyes darted from Sonic to Sonia, but both were fully absorbed by the news program: the Blue Blur looking collected and determined and his sister obviously a bit shocked by what she had just heard. In the meanwhile the show went live to a reporter on a Capital Cruise passage boat "just like the one that got hit":

"...in what the officials has already called one of the most daring acts of terror since the foundation of the city" the woman with the microphone continued, police vehicles flashing red and blue on the river bank behind her. "...this is the same group responsible for the attack on the late Dr. Robotnik's space station. As of yet the terrorists didn't release any statements, nor make any demands, but the recent attack is believed to be a message to the rest of the world..."

The display went black and the room became brightly lit again. Sonia blinked in bewilderment as her brother gave her back the remote.

"None of what they said is true. You saw what really happened."

"I mean... I guess" the purple hedgehog stood up and began anxiously pacing around the room. "Though I haven't got a clue if you're working with those… Those Freedom Fighters or whatever they're called."

"Well, we worked with them for a while..." Tails blurted out, but catching a worried look from the daughter of Windermeres quickly added: "But they're nothing like what those news people make them out to be. They actually fight to liberate their home from the Eggman Empire."

"If you say so... But that's not how the public here sees it."

"Robotnik did a pretty good job keeping people living in this city ignorant of many things that's been going on in the world" Sonic shook his head. "You really don't remember anything from before you ended up here?"

"I already told you - I was too young" Sonia sighed, slightly irritated. "I didn't even figure out my parents adopted me before I turned six. Funny how that works, huh?"

The trio fell silent for a while. Finally the Blue Blur decided on the course of action and headed for the door.

"We can't stay here: Eggman's badniks are probably already on their way to this place."

"Badniks?" the hero's sister raised an eyebrow.

"Environmental bots Eggman Empire uses for reconnaissance and to wrestle for control over loosely populated areas" Tails readily came to her assistance. "They usually have small critters inside of them used as batteries and as processors for additional calculating power."

"Oh..." Sonia looked like the cub's words went completely over her head. "Well, whatever they are, I'm not going anywhere."

"If you stay here you'll be putting yourself in danger" Sonic warned her, already standing at the threshold, waiting for the others to join him.

"We're not in some lawless wilderness, Sonic" the girl argued stubbornly. "And no one can simply barge into Millennium Springs. We have securities here and stuff... Look, the sun will be up soon - it's safer to stay inside until then. My family will be back in a few days, mom and dad have connections, and they'll figure something out... Make it all look like a big misunderstanding."

Sonia looked over her guests with a reassuring smile.

"And first thing in the morning I'll get you something to wear so you can blend in with the locals! Seriously, this "native" look might be okay for the parts unknown, but here you two nudists stand out in the crowd way too much."

"It's the matter of life and death and you're seriously thinking about fashion?" the blue hedgehog slapped himself on the forehead.

Feeling that the heated discussion was about to spiral into a real argument - and momentarily conscious about his own gloves & snickers only situation - Miles stepped between the siblings.

"Guys, this isn't helping!" he said, gesturing the two to calm down. "Sonia, Sonic is just trying to protect you, that's all. And Sonic... We don't even know if Egg-Robo - or whoever's in charge of Robotnik's operations these days - even knows about Sonia's existence."

The tension seemed to have gone down a notch and there was another pause. At last the Blue Blur threw his arms up:

"Alright, fine. But WE can't stay here, Tails, cause the two of us are definitely being hunted. Can't put our host at risk" he winked at the other hedgehog.

"So you'll just leave?" Sonia inquired. "Where will you even go at this hour anyway?"

"Don't worry, sis. We have a little camping spot all set up..."

"Yeah, on the other side of the city" the two-tailed fox added grumpily.

"We'll come visit you when the coast is clear" Sonic finished, turning to go. "Come on, Tails!"

Miles Prower, who had been looking forward to spending the rest of the night in the comfort of a luxurious mansion, didn't like the prospect of heading outside so soon again, but he complied.

"He can be kinda rash, huh?" Miss Windermere asked the cub when he was already at the door.

"But he means well!" Miles beamed, waving her goodbye.

The last of the daylight died down, plunging the charred stone walls into complete darkness. For a while the air remained deafeningly still, but once it became obvious that the battle was indeed over the canyon filled with rustles and whispers that quickly turned into a roll call - the immediate danger to the Clan removed, the wolves tended to the wounded and counted their loses.

Nemo sighed with relief, happy to have survived a second encounter with the Scorcher in one day and suddenly grew increasingly aware of someone's presence right next to him.

"Are you alright?" the wanderer asked reaching out, but the other person jumped out of the way. "Oh, sorry. I just wanted to..."

A flare lighting up close to his face almost made the dog bite his tongue. The dim light made the shapes of the tribal warriors gathered around him visible. Their grim expressions didn't show even a trace of elation brought by victory… Indeed there was only exhaustion and grief for the lost brothers in arms.

"What were you thinking?" the leader of the pack inquired, holding the only source of illumination in front of her. "You could have died in that explosion."

Of course the chief didn't address these words of concern to Nemo, but rather to his savior, who - to the great surprise of the wandered - turned out to be an outsider, just like him: the planet Freedom native that so selflessly risked her life to get him out of the line of fire belonged to a different kin that typically inhabited the lush green forests that lay far to the Northeast from the Wolf Clan prairies. Her fur was the color of chestnut with darker hair on her head gathered in a sort of a ponytail. She wore a dark-blue open vest with high collar and a pair of boots of matching color.

"I'm fine. Don't worry, Lupe."

The squirrel girl seemed just as tired and seedy as the rest of them, but her voice remained calm and stern, giving an impression of someone not unfamiliar with exercising authority.

"Very well" the she-wolf nodded apparently requiring no further confirmation that everything was okay. "So... Who is this?"

Nemo sensed that the conversation was about to go down the all too familiar path that painted him as a menace or at least a possible threat to everyone present. The dog realized that he had to do something to try and break the ice.

"...Remember the cargo we transmitted about earlier?" the foreign lady began to explain. "Well, this is..."

"Nemo. The name is Nemo. Pleased to meet you" the wanderer interrupted, putting on the most sincere grin he could muster given the circumstances.

Judging by the confused looks he received the gesture didn't work at intended.

"Nemo?" the girl repeated, obviously puzzled by the sudden introduction.

"This creature claims to have lost its memory. Survived a direct hit by one of the Scorcher's cannons too..." Lupe noted and then added with a hint of contempt: "By partially turning into a machine itself no less."

"I helped your people get rid of that thing, didn't I?" the dog retorted, striving not to sound irritated. "It's been a long evening… Cut me some slack, will you?"

Ignoring their bickering the squirrel stood eyeing the wanderer with distrust.

"You really don't remember anything?" she asked at last, crossing her arms.

"Not a thing!" Nemo readily admitted. "I was kind of hoping someone here could clue me in as to what in the world is going on."

Yet the mysterious character didn't rush to answer him, apparently trying to decipher whether the dog had told the truth or not. Or perhaps weighing every word before revealing too much to a suspicious new acquaintance? The wolf warriors grew more restless with every second, whispering among themselves and throwing disgruntled gazes at their leader, who pretended not to notice. Ultimately the squirrel made a decision and spoke, monitoring the wanderer's reaction:

"My name is Sally. I'm part of a group called the Freedom Fighters. We…" she paused as if picking a more suitable word. "We rescued you from Robotnik a couple of days ago. You were a subject in an experiment… Does this sound familiar?"

Nemo had to blink repeatedly while processing what he was just told.

"Nope. Sorry - doesn't ring a bell" he confessed and then immediately added with a smirk: "I believe the part about you saving me though."

"I see…" Sally sighed, notable disappointed and turned to the chief. "We'll figure something out later. Lupe, we need to contact the headquarters ASAP. Can you get us to the Hidden Canyon?"

"Yes, it's only a few hours on foot from here. But..." the she-wolf hesitated, searching her troops for signs of protest. "Many will not approve of your arrival..."

"Please, Lupe!" Sally insisted. "The info we carry may be crucial to liberating all of us from the machines."

"Fine then" the elder gave in. "But you and your... "Cargo" better stay close to me."

She gave orders to her people and then signaled the outsiders to come with her. Nemo followed, unsure whether he was still a prisoner or not.

The glass door slid to the side and Egg-Robo entered a brightly lit room with no windows. To its great annoyance the robot had to traverse the entire med bay to get to the only occupied bed and about half way there one could already discern the clatter of fingers against a keyboard. Idly wasting time wasn't among Hope Robotnik's habits - she refused to put down her work even here in the infirmary. Lying on a comfortable blanket she had been typing something on her laptop, periodically waving a nurse bot away whenever it returned to resume its duties like measuring the patient's temperature or trying to bandage her bruises.

Upon seeing his maker's favorite niece, Egg-Robo's caretaker protocols kicked in, advising it to give the minor some heartfelt words of encouragement. And the fake Ivo Robotnik did exactly that.

"HOPE!" the android yelled at the top of its non-existent lungs. "What the heck do you think you're doing resting here while your uncle is out there, fighting his sworn enemies?!"

Long accustomed to this particular AI's faulty thinking patterns, the child prodigy didn't even twitch.

"I almost had Sonic too, but that shoddy contraption of yours malfunctioned at the worst possible moment!" the metallic maniac went on, gesticulating like a Shakespearean actor.

"It's not the designer's fault if the vehicle is used incorrectly" Hope parried, never even looking at her critic. "I told you a million times: in order to utilize the Hydra to its full potential there needs to be more of you."

"I have no idea what you're talking about, silly child!" Egg-Robo said, turning away and staring at the ceiling. "There can only be one Dr. Robotnik… There IS only one Dr. Robotnik!.."

Even though it irked her to no end, the blonde girl couldn't help, but feel a little sorry for the poor machine and its delusions, so she decided not to push the subject any further. At least not right now.

"Our newest operative has exposed some Freedom Fighters' facilities in Central City" Hope changed the subject, bringing up a report she was working on before the Robo-Uncle stormed in with its nonsense. "Have to admit, I underestimated her… Resolve."

"Bah! That's all worthless! By the time you'll dig through your paperwork, Sonic will be long gone with no way to lure him out again…"

"Not necessarily" the young Robotnik retorted, anticipation what effect her next discovery will have on the dim-witted bucket of bolts. "While you were… Patching yourself up, I made Metal go through the security footage. Here, take a look."

She punched in a simple command and then moved the portable computer to the side of the bunk to let Egg-Robo take a peek at the display. The video came on and it appeared to be the battle between the Egg-Hydra and the Blue Blur from earlier, captured by one of the fish badniks that lurked in the waters of artificial rivers in downtown Cloud City. Just then it reached the moment when the hedgehog tricked the pilot into crippling its own ride.

"Are you mocking me, Hope? How's this helpful?!" the humiliated robot demanded to know.

"Just keep watching!"

As the on-screen duel was drawing to a close, the camera travelled to a different ferry-boat nearby and a purple streak notched a couple of frames, giving an impression of a graphical defect. Hope re-winded the video a little and hit "play" again, but this time putting it in slow motion. The second pleasure craft entered from the right again and…

"There are two of them!" Egg-Robo roared in disbelief. "The accursed rodent has a sister!"

"Bingo" Hope jeered, actually somewhat impressed the tin man put the pieces together so fast. "I'm willing to bet this was what brought him to Cloud City in the first place."

"We need to find her. Alert every recon unit in the area!.."

"Oh, that won't be necessary" the young Robotnik assured Egg-Robo. "Metal! Status report?"

"En route to Millennium Springs" the emotionless voice in her head responded within a millisecond. "ETA - 7 minutes."

"Perfect. Let's hope they won't mind us crashing their party" Hope commented with a cruel smile.


End file.
